Car Servicing

I have read that the CVT transmission in the Honda Jazz VTIS can be troublesome. I would like to know what sort of problem that involves. I read in the Honda service manual that the automatic transmission is serviced at 36 months or 40,000 km. This is the first time I have seen this in a service manual. I also have a 2012 Mazda CX5, 2.0-litre FWD 2012 and there is no mention in it's service manual of servicing the automatic transmission. Should I have its transmission serviced?

My new Kia Sportage has noisy lifters on cold starts and sometimes even after three hours later from sitting in the garage the noise begins again. The car has 3800 kilometers on the clock. I took it to Kia and they looked it over and told me it's normal if the car has been sitting for a few days. I heard it today after it was sitting for three hours. I started it and the tappet noise went on for about two minutes till the car warmed up. A new car with tappet noise sounds like a concern to me. I need some advice as to my course of action and how I can get Kia to look deeper than trying to shun it as normal.

The blinkers on my 1998 Holden Barina are on without power, but it will not start. What should I do?

I own a 2013 Land Rover Discovery 4, which according to the manual has a service interval of 24,000 km or 12 months. It is now 12 months since my last B-service, but I have only done 10,000 km of highway driving in that time. My math says that's 14,000 km until the next A-service, but time-wise a service is due now. Accordingly, I attempted to book the car in for a service. My local dealer recommends a full A-service, quoting that there are age related service items as well as km related. I appreciate that changing the oil and filter is highly advisable every 12 months, but question whether a full A-service is required at this stage. Is this just an attempt by the service department to drum up business, or are you aware of items (other than oil) that require service based on the passing of time and not km?

I'm experiencing re-occurring rocker gasket leaks on my 2007 Holden Barina. Is this problem common? And what is my best course of action to repair?

Has anyone had problems with diesel ASXs. I'm told that the carbon build up in my 2012 model due to a faulty valve was so bad that the engine needs to be replaced. Mitsubishi has now had my car for 4 1/2 months with no progress being made on the replacement and no answer to correspondence. Is this problem common?

The navigation system in my 2013 Mazda3 sedan has failed to operate for some months. This was reported to the Mazda dealer when the car received the 2-yearly service. The fault was not fixed at that time but the service report was endorsed that the dealer would contact me when new software was available. This problem was also reported to Mazda in Melbourne, who responded by saying that a Customer Service Officer would contact me re the problem. I have not been contacted by any Customer Service Officer from Mazda, despite having advised them again of the problem, which I believe is not only confined to my car. Having dealt with Mazda for over 40 years, their response to my query is unsatisfactory to say the least.

My 2016 Holden Captiva 7 LTZ 3.0-litre petrol has a fuel economy issue. My average is 19.1 L/100 km. I went to the dealership and they ran a fuel economy test, which came back as normal. What should I do?

The turbo on my 2012 PX Ford Ranger Wildtrak recently blew on the way home from work. It has always been serviced at the same Ford dealership that it was purchased from new. When advised that the factory warranty was due to expire I was told to contact the dealership to purchase an extended warranty, which I did. I'm not too mechanically minded, so I accepted that the extended warranty sold to me through the Ford dealership was appropriate to cover my vehicle. Now that the damage has been done Ford won't take responsibility and keep saying its Allianz's problem that is the Insurance provider for Ford's extended warranty. I have since been told that Allianz will only contribute $5000 to the damaged vehicle and if I was to take out a loan vehicle through them that this was come out of my $5000 cover limit. I am still waiting to hear back from the Ford dealership as to the true extent of damage, but so far both Ford and Allianz are trying to wipe their hands clean of the issue. I feel extremely let down by Ford and now have the added task of trying to source a set of wheels for work to tow my trailer around whilst they sort out who/how this issue will be resolved. What are my next steps and whom should I be contacting to try and find out where I stand?

My son purchased a new 2016 Toyota GXL twin-cab. He is on long service leave at the moment and had a new GPS Installed in the dash when he ordered the vehicle. The current software in the GPS is dated 2014, it is now 2017, and this unit has sent him in the wrong directions at times. He enquired at a Toyota dealership and was told he had to pay just under $300 to have it updated. I think Toyota should have had the current maps updated before he took ownership of the vehicle. Should Toyota update current Maps at their own expense?